Christine Keleny

-- Midwest Book Award Finalist --If you didn't already know, Carolyn Keene, of the famous Nancy Drew mystery series, is not a real person. Neither is the Hardy Boys' Franklin Dixon or Laura Lee Hope of the Bobbsey Twins. They are all the brain child of one of the country's most prolific writers for children and young adults to date: Edward Stratemeyer. Edward was so prolific, in fact, that he had to eventually hire ghostwriters to help him flush out his story ideas, which was not an issue until a series he created just before his death became a cult classic. "Will the Real Carolyn Keene Please Stand Up" tells of the lives of the three primary creators of the Nancy mystery series and how the plucky, intelligent, resourceful, and famous girl sleuth came to life, along with the controversy that still rages on about who really created the Nancy that millions of readers across the globe have come to know and love. "Will the Real Carolyn Keene Please Stand Up" is a fresh take on one of America's most popular characters-Nancy Drew. Keleny offers readers a behind-the-scenes look at the dedicated and determined creators of the series. She also reveals the competing-and often conflicting-visions each author had for Nancy. This novel is entertaining, smart, and exceptionally well researched. It is certain to interest anyone who is curious about the surprising mystery behind the Nancy Drew mysteries." Jenna Nelson, PhDLARGE PRINT EDITION

If you didn't already know, Carolyn Keene, of the famous Nancy Drew mystery series, is not a real person. Neither is the Hardy Boys' Franklin Dixon or Laura Lee Hope of the Bobbsey Twins. They are all the brain child of one of the country's most prolific writers for children and young adults to date: Edward Stratemeyer. Edward was so prolific, in fact, that he had to eventually hire ghostwriters to help him flush out his story ideas, which was not an issue until a series he created just before his death became a cult classic. "Will the Real Carolyn Keene Please Stand Up" tells of the lives of the three primary creators of the Nancy mystery series and how the plucky, intelligent, resourceful, and famous girl sleuth came to life, along with the controversy that still rages on about who really created the Nancy that millions of readers across the globe have come to know and love. "Will the Real Carolyn Keene Please Stand Up" is a fresh take on one of America's most popular characters--Nancy Drew. Keleny offers readers a behind-the-scenes look at the dedicated and determined creators of the series. She also reveals the competing--and often conflicting--visions each author had for Nancy. This novel is entertaining, smart, and exceptionally well researched. It is certain to interest anyone who is curious about the surprising mystery behind the Nancy Drew mysteries." Jenna Nelson, PhD

Shell shock, battle fatigue, post traumatic stress disorder―it all means the same thing to veterans who have served their country by putting themselves in harm's way. But for women veterans of WWII like Rose Krantz, it also meant coming back to a country that, even during the war, hadn't given them the rights that the lowest-ranking male soldier enjoyed, barely acknowledged the sacrifices they had all made, and, in some cases, chastised them for even participating.So in 1945, when Rose came home to bury her husband only to find out she was pregnant with his child, her nightmares, her daily anxieties, and the two men who wanted to protect her, had to be put aside until Rose was finally forced to come to terms with it all.Rose From the Ashes is the third and fitting end to the Rose series.Large Print EditionDiscussion Questions Included

Today women have a glass ceiling. In the 1930s that ceiling was made of wood, so following your dream only took you so far-especially if you went against societal norms and what your friends and family told you you should or should not do. This is the story told in A Burnished Rose, the much-anticipated sequel to the award-winning Rosebloom.Rose Krantz, a soon-to-be eighteen-year-old, has just come home to the family farm in southwest Wisconsin after running away from home two years earlier to follow her dream. She's home because her mother has been ill, but Rose is not looking to stay. Despite the objections of her family and a new man who comes into her life, Rose makes it back to her second home, New Orleans, and her boyfriend, Malcolm.Then, early one morning on December 7, 1941, bombs explode on the small, distant island of Hawaii. This incident pushes Rose, who is in Baton Rouge training to be a nurse, into a global conflict that ironically will come to be known as "The Good War."A Burnished Rose entertains, inspires, and reminds us what life was like for women of that era, and for the nurses who, right along with the men, made significant sacrifices for their country.A percentage of the profits of each book sold will be donated to help in the education of disadvantaged children, because Christine believes that knowledge is a powerful tool.LARGE PRINT EDITIONDiscussion Questions Included

Rose - a precocious young girl in 1930s Wisconsin - runs away from home to avoid going onto high school and what she sees as a certain path to marriage and motherhood. What she seeks is adventure. What she finds is much more. ---------- Rose is thrown into the lives of the varied people and towns of the Mississippi while working on river boats, going to a prep school in St. Louis where she lives with a black family in the Ville, and working in a bordello in New Orleans (not as a call girl, of course. She is a Catholic girl from the Midwest after all). What she doesn't anticipate are the close relationships that develop with many of the women she encounters. She also discovers the harshness of the world far away from the security of home. Ultimately, Rose realizes what is most important in her life: her family and her friends. ---------- Rosebloom takes place at a time in history that buffets Rose between the great depression and the coming wave of World War II. She gets herself into situations through her naivet and also just by chance that test her resolve and teach her not only about herself but about the world of others which she would have never know if she hadn't left her small farm in Southwest Wisconsin.

I turn to see where Grandma and Reggie are and run right into a brick wall. Well, it's not exactly a brick wall but it feels like it. It's a really big man in a dark suit and tie, who kind of reminds me of Officer Miller, the CIA officer that saved us from Georg and Inger when we were in Norway."Oh I'm sorry." I step to my right to move around the man, but he does something really strange; he steps back in front of me as if to block my way.I look up at the big man with broad shoulders, and then it dawns on me: Officer Miller has sent a man to find us and make us finally go home Has Grandma Agee gone off the deep end with her new plan? Is there any chance Grandma and Agnes can meet with Russian's supreme leader, Nikita Khrushchev? Is CIA Officer Miller or Mr. Borge of EI4 (the Norwegian Intelligence Service) going to catch up to them and force them to go home?Book III in the Agnes Kelly Mystery Adventure Series is full of even more surprises, takes you on another exciting ride (this time through the heart of Russia), and Reveals All - including some things you would never expect

What better time to learn about chakras than when you are young.The seven chakra fairies in Chakra Magic teach young children about the basics of the seven main chakras in a fun and entertaining way. They will learn - that energy centers in the body have been talked about within many cultures - what color is associated with each chakra - what the energy in each chakra can affect - multiple ways to help balance their own chakras.There is a simple, step-by-step meditation that they can read and work through themselves or that a family member or friend can read for them to help balance their chakras. And as an Added Bonus - There is an extra exercise they can do to learn to feel their energy on their own or with a friend or family member.

The Chakra Fairies have a gift for you The seven chakra fairies in Chakra Magic have come together just for you to share some important information that will help you every day of your life.What you will learn in Chakra Magic - the energy centers in the body have been a part of many cultures for a very long time.- the color associated with each chakra.- what the energy in each chakra can affect in your life every day.- multiple ways to help balance your own chakras to help them work better.Included is a simple, step-by-step meditation to help your chakras work better. And as an Added Bonus - Christine has included an exercise you can do to learn to actually feel your own energy. You can do this on your own or with a friend or family member.s an Added Bonus - Christine has included an exercise you can do to learn to actually feel your own energy. You can do this on your own or with a friend or family member.

The Award-winning Intrigue in Istanbul: An Agnes Kelly Mystery Adventure is set in 1961, a time of the cold war and space race. But that isn't on Agnes' radar. Her dad has died and during a trip with her grandmother to Istanbul, she accidentally finds out it was under suspicious circumstances, but that's just the beginning Agnes Kelly is the 1960s American version of Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce. Agnes has a propensity for books and words, and she entertains middle grade readers and adults alike."She is a Scout Finch from the Upper Midwest, a little older, but with the same qualities of curiosity, courage, and boldness of heart."

The laughs, thrills, and hijinks continue for young and old alike in Book II of the Agnes Kelly Mystery Adventure Series, the much-anticipated follow-up to the Award-Winning Intrigue in Istanbul. But there is more Grandma and Agnes get in over their heads and end up putting their very lives at risk.I enjoy books that make you think and are clever, so this one is perfect... Can't wait for your next book. Roxana Grunewald